The night bled into morning without warning.

The battlefield was unrecognizable — the air was thick with smoke, and what used to be a sprawling plain was now a warped wasteland of glass and melted metal.

Cain stood at the center, chest heaving, steam rising from his skin. The exhaustion in his muscles burned deeper than pain. Every nerve screamed, every instinct told him to stop. But he couldn't.

Something stirred in the distance.

The ground trembled in rhythmic pulses, faint at first, then steady — like the beating of a heart beneath the earth. Cain tensed, eyes narrowing. He raised {Eidwyrm}, its crimson edge glowing faintly despite the layers of ash that had dulled the world's color.

Then came the voice — low, guttural, and distorted.

"You never know when to die, do you?"

Cain's eyes twitched. The shape that emerged from the dark was massive — charred armor fused into skin, molten cracks glowing like veins of lava. A once-human figure, now twisted beyond recognition.

"Didn't think you were still alive," Cain muttered, voice hoarse.

The figure grinned through scorched lips. "Alive? No. But you'll wish I wasn't."

It lunged forward. The force of its step shattered the cracked ground beneath it, sending up waves of molten dirt and stone. Cain barely sidestepped, {Eidwyrm} crashing against the creature's arm with a blinding spark.

The impact sent both reeling back — Cain's boots dug furrows in the ground, his grip tightening on the hilt. The creature bellowed, swinging its fist like a hammer. Cain ducked, twisted, and slashed upward, carving through a shoulder. Molten blood splattered, sizzling as it hit the cold air.

But the wound closed almost instantly.

"Regeneration… perfect," Cain spat, frustration simmering.

The creature slammed its foot down, unleashing a shockwave that blew Cain off his feet. He spun midair, bracing as he hit the ground, sliding across the dust. He could feel his lungs seize from the heat radiating off the monster's body — like fighting beside a volcano.

Then, it spoke again — clearer this time, though still distorted.

"You think this is about winning?"

Cain said nothing. He simply pushed forward.

In an instant, he was in front of it, blade flashing, slashing, and cleaving through the monster's form in a flurry of precise movements. Every strike was deliberate — aimed to cripple, to destroy, to erase.

Each blow sparked golden light, but the creature's body twisted and regenerated faster than he could cut. Cain's expression darkened. He ducked beneath a clawed hand, rolled, and slashed the knee out from under the beast, but instead of falling, it swung its other arm and sent him flying into a half-collapsed boulder.

The rock disintegrated under the impact.

He coughed once, metallic taste flooding his mouth. "This again…"

The creature's shadow fell over him. "You should've stayed dead when the Celestials fell."

Cain's eyes snapped up. "So you are one of them."

It grinned — molten light flashing between broken teeth. "Not quite. But close enough."

The temperature around them climbed rapidly. The air shimmered, the remnants of metal and stone around them beginning to melt. Cain's skin blistered just standing there.

Still, he straightened. "Guess that means you bleed."

He charged again.

Their clash sent a column of fire skyward, tearing open the clouds. The earth beneath them cracked and groaned under the weight of their fury. Every strike echoed like thunder, each parry sending shockwaves that leveled what little remained of the landscape.

When the dust settled for a brief second, both combatants stood several meters apart, steam rising from their bodies.

Cain's breathing was shallow, but his eyes still burned with a cold resolve. The creature was grinning wider now — its face barely human anymore, more flame than flesh.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" it sneered.

Cain raised his blade once more. "No. This is what you asked for."

The next clash lit up the horizon.

The land screamed with them.

The wind carried nothing but heat and ash. The clouds above glowed a deep crimson as lightning cracked through the haze, drawn to the sheer magnitude of energy being unleashed below. Cain's boots ground into what remained of solid earth, the soles searing against molten stone.

The creature charged through the inferno, leaving a trail of liquefied terrain in its wake. Cain barely pivoted aside, its clawed hand missing his throat by inches. He swung upward, {Eidwyrm} biting into the creature's abdomen. Sparks exploded from the wound as molten blood splashed across Cain's arm — the searing pain almost unbearable, but he didn't falter.

He twisted the blade. The creature's roar split the sky.

Cain yanked {Eidwyrm} free and leapt back just in time to avoid the retaliatory swipe that tore apart the ground where he'd stood. The debris rose like shrapnel and scattered across the battlefield. The shockwave alone flattened what little was left of the nearby terrain.

"Still standing?" the creature snarled, voice cracking like firewood.

Cain spat blood, eyes never leaving his target. "Still talking?"

He darted forward again, closing the distance faster than thought. His movements blurred, every ounce of focus poured into each swing. He wasn't aiming for a single decisive strike anymore — he was dissecting the monster piece by piece, cutting where it moved, predicting its regeneration and striking again before it could reform.

Each strike carried more desperation than rhythm, more fury than technique. The land convulsed under them as shockwaves collided in succession.

Then the creature slammed both fists into the ground.

A massive eruption of molten energy tore upward, engulfing everything in a blinding wave. Cain shielded his face with his arm, his coat burning away as the blast consumed the field. He was thrown backward, tumbling through the air, crashing through a crumbling ridge before finally stopping in a smoking trench.

The ringing in his ears made the world distant, almost unreal. He pushed himself up, coughing. His vision swam, but he saw movement in the blaze — the creature was walking toward him again, unharmed.

Cain wiped blood from his lips and smirked faintly. "You think that's enough to stop me?"

"Stop you?" it rumbled. "No. Break you? Maybe."

Cain steadied himself, lowering {Eidwyrm} to his side. His stance was loose now — efficient, stripped of wasted motion. He'd stopped holding back long ago, and yet the damn thing refused to die.